In a move to be more consumer friendly — or, at least, less consumer-hostile in the digital goods space — Microsoft is now testing a refund system to make it easier for customers to return Xboxvideo games and apps from the Windows Store. [More]
xbox one
Xbox Launching $10 Monthly Subscription To Library Of 100+ Downloadable Games
By 2.28.17
Times used to be, a video game player’s library might have been limited to as many piles of cartridges or discs as they could fit at home. But as consumers turn to digital libraries for everything from movies and TV to music, it only makes sense that the gaming industry would follow a similar path. That’s why Microsoft is launching a new monthly subscription service that gives users access to more than 100 downloadable games from its legacy catalog. [More]
Microsoft To Stop Production Of Xbox 360
By 4.20.16
Last fall, Microsoft issued a software update on the Xbox One’s second birthday that included backward compatibility that allows owners to play some of their old Xbox 360 games on the newer console. With that feature firmly in place, Microsoft announced Wednesday that it will say goodbye to the 10-year-old console. [More]
Xbox One Will Support Cross-Platform Multiplayer With PS4, PC
By 3.14.16
If you like playing online multiplayer games on your Xbox One but hate that you can never play your pal because she’s a PlayStation 4 devotee, here’s some promising news. [More]
Your Xbox One May Finally Be Able To Play Your Old Xbox 360 Games
By 10.27.15
Next month, Microsoft’s Xbox One will celebrate its second birthday, which makes it as good a time as any for a software update that will finally allow users to play some of their old Xbox 360 games on the console. [More]
Company That Paid YouTube Users To Promote Xbox One Settles Charges Of Deceptive Advertising
By 9.2.15
When Microsoft teamed up with Machinima to launch a promotion that paid affiliated YouTubers for shilling for the Xbox One console in January 2014, we questioned whether any potential negative publicity and regulatory hassle would be worth it. Turns out, we were right to think the company would face scrutiny from federal regulators, as the Federal Trade Commission says it has cleared Microsoft of wrongdoing and settled charges that Machinima pushed videos of people endorsing the video game without disclosing they had been paid. [More]
Don’t Expect To Play Your PS3 Games On A PS4 Anytime Soon
By 6.19.15
Owners of Sony’s PlayStation 4 hoping the company would follow in Microsoft’s footsteps and add backwards compatibility to allow PS3 games to be played on the newer console shouldn’t hold their breath, as executives for the electronics company say they have no immediate plans to implement the technology. [More]
How Do Video Game Publishers Continue To Get Away With Mistreating Their Customers?
By 6.17.15
It’s E3 time: the annual video game conference — still, barely nominally, a trade show — is taking place this week in Los Angeles, drawing developers, publishers, and media from around the world to gawk at titles large and small. From Facebook games to Fallout, everything is on display… including the long history of the contentious, adversarial relationship between the companies that make the games and the consumers who play them. [More]
Xbox One Getting A Lot More Useful With Backwards Compatability
By 6.15.15
When Microsoft and Sony announced their current slate of gaming consoles in 2013, neither manufacturer included backwards compatibility, meaning all your Xbox 360 and PS3 games still needed the old console to play those games. Today at E3, Microsoft finally announced that the Xbox One will include the ability to play previous-generation games on the current-gen console. [More]
Microsoft Reportedly Adding DVR Feature To Xbox One Over-The-Air Broadcasts
By 5.6.15
When Microsoft announced last month that its Xbox One would have the ability to provide users with live over-the-air content from local broadcast networks, the company said the new feature would allow viewers to pause the action for up to 30 minutes. But a half-hour just isn’t a lot of time for today’s busy TV watcher, which is probably why the company is reportedly looking to add a DVR feature to the console [More]
U.S. Xbox One Users Can Now Watch Over-The-Air TV (With $80 Add-On)
By 4.8.15
Some days it seems as if the uses for the Xbox One are unlimited; you can play games, watch on-demand programing from HBO GO, Netflix and other apps and you can live stream content through a subscription to Sling TV. One thing you haven’t been able to do? Watch live over-the-air content from local broadcast networks. But that’s about to change. [More]
Sling TV Adding More Channels To Base Package, Now Works On Xbox One
By 3.17.15
Dish’s standalone streaming Sling TV service continues to add more value to its $20/month subscription price, with the announcement today that Sling is now accessible through Xbox One consoles and that four channels are being added to the standard Sling lineup. [More]
Microsoft Temporarily Dropping The Price Of Xbox One To $349 Again
By 1.16.15
After cutting the price of the Xbox One $50 ahead of the holiday season, it seems Microsoft is still in the holiday spirit, as it’s offering the console for $349 again as of today. [More]
Microsoft Dropping Xbox One Price $50 In Advance Of Holiday Season
By 10.27.14
It’s been a year since Microsoft and Sony launched their latest game consoles and the makers of the Xbox One are making a push to get their product in more homes this holiday season by dropping the price through the end of the year. [More]
Microsoft Really Wants You To Buy An Xbox One So It’s Giving Away Free Games Next Week
By 9.4.14
It’s been almost a year since Microsoft launched its latest console, the Xbox One, originally selling for $100 more than the new competition from Sony. Now that these next-gen consoles are looking toward their second holiday season (and really their first with any decent games), Microsoft is trying to get a leg up on the PS4 by offering free games to people who buy an Xbox One next week. [More]
Soon You Can Use Your Xbox One To Stream Live TV To Your Phone (But Not In The U.S.)
By 8.12.14
The Xbox One gaming console is getting a new function added to it, Microsoft announced today. As of this fall, the late-2013, next-gen, still-new gaming and media device will also function as high-tech rabbit ears for your TV. [More]
Only Way To Play New Madden NFL Before Release Date Is To Pay For EA Access On Xbox One
By 8.11.14
For a decade, fans of EA’s wildly popular Madden NFL video games have been able to try the game out for a couple of weeks before its release via demo versions made available on Xbox and Playstation consoles. But in an apparent effort to get people to sign up for its new $5/month EA Access service — currently only available on Xbox One — the video game publisher (and two-time Worst Company In America winner) doing away with the publicly available demo and instead dangling the carrot of being able to play the game fives days early through Access. [More]
EA To Offer $5 Monthly All-You-Can-Play Old Game Buffet For Xbox One Owners
By 7.30.14
Disc-based video games aren’t doomed yet; there are many years left to go before their seemingly-inevitable demise finally comes. One big game publisher, though, is clearly already scrounging for the nails they eventually hope to put into the lid of that particular coffin. EA this week announced a new online subscription service giving players unlimited access to a whole “vault” of games for as long as they keep paying the monthly fee. Is it a great idea for consumers or a blatant cash-grab from EA? In reality, probably a little bit of both. [More]
